


blankets

by agathons



Series: four times feliciano hugged ludwig, and one time when ludwig did. [3]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-25
Updated: 2015-08-25
Packaged: 2018-04-17 06:05:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4655430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agathons/pseuds/agathons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ludwig takes Feliciano home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	blankets

**Author's Note:**

> i'm alive ok 
> 
> sorry for the horrible title i just can't name those chapters i'm sorry

Gilbert walked out of the bathroom humming quietly, with a towel on his shoulders, and his white hair dripping wet. He bent down to pat Blackie on her head as she was looking at him playfully and wagging her tail, which made him smile. "Daww, look at you, what a pretty girl!" he stroked her behind her black, triangle-shaped ears. "I really wish I could stay with you to play, but you know..." he said, patting the dog once more and walking over to the kitchen. He turned the radio on and, humming along to the music, started preparing scrambled eggs.

The radio speaker announced the time (7pm) and Gilbert let out a quiet swear word - he had a meeting with Francis and Antonio at 8pm and he was still in his boxer briefs, plus he was pretty sure his car needed refuleing. He sighed in frustration and left the frying pan on the stove and instead went to his bedroom, looking through his wardrobe for a t-shirt. Couple of minutes (and swear words in German) later Gilbert was once again standing against beige counter, now in his black Rammstein t-shirt, but still in his Wile E. Coyote boxer briefs. The dogs were sitting around his feet, looking at him with begging eyes, as he ate his late lunch straight from the frying pan. He was nearly finished when he heard noises coming from the stairway.

He correctly assumed that Ludwig was coming home, as his brother stepped over the threshold, carrying grocery bags and a suitcase. 

"Hello brother!" Gilbert rushed over to hold the door to help Ludwig "I didn't realise we need so much...." he cut off mid-sentence when he noticed there was someone behind his brother, also carrying groceries and with a classy leather bag across his shoulder. Wooden bracelets rattled when Feliciano waved his hand cheerfuly to greet Gilbert. 

"Feliciano?" Gilbert raised his eyebrows in surprise, but in a second his lips streched out in a smile- which was typical, as Feliciano's smile was contagious. "How's it goin'?" he closed the door behind them and Beilschmidts’ dogs started to jump around Ludwig, barking happily and sniffing the bags and the surprise guest. Feliciano kneeled down to pat the dogs and Ludwig took all the groceries and rushed to the kitchen without a word. Gilbert followed him, leaving Feliciano, who was now speaking to the dogs like they'd known each other for years. 

Gilbert leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. Ludwig was unpacking groceries and quickly putting products on the shelves and in the fridge. "You're in my way" he finally said, but his tone was irritated. Gilbert's eyebrows shifted up but he moved from Ludwig's way. 

"You gonna tell me what's going on here, or...?" the question hung in the air and Ludwig stopped his activity for a second. "Feliciano is staying in our apartment for a couple of days" he said. "Why is that?" Gilbert leaned on the doorframe. 

"He decided to stay for longer and I invited him over" Ludwig's tone was annoyed once again and Gilbert responded calmly with "okay, I'm just asking, no need to be mad." Ludwig opened his mouth to respond but Feliciano appeared behind Gilbert’s back. 

"You guys hungry? I thought I could cook something as a big thank you for letting me stay over and stuff..." He said the last sentence quietly, looking mostly at Ludwig and then back to his shoes. Gilbert was really curious what was going on here. He licked his lips and narrowed his eyes, inspecting the scene with his arms crossed. 

"No need to do such thing. We ate already on the picnic, right? I'm full and it appears that Gilbert had already eaten, too." Ludwig turned back and put the frying pan into the sink. Feliciano looked at Gilbert and the albino nodded. 

"Actually, I have a meeting and I should be going" he said as he realised it was twenty past seven and he was still in his underwear. Maybe this time his attempt at dressing up would be more successful. He laughed awkwardly and left the kitchen in a rush. Feliciano took his place against the doorframe, but he folded his arms behind his back and stood there awkwardly as Ludwig was still unpacking groceries.

"I'm sorry I made you buy all this stuff..." Feliciano said after spending a while in silence.  
"Oh, it's nothing." Ludwig responded mechanically "I was going to go shopping eventually anyway." Feliciano smiled softly and drew up the sleeves of his shirt as a sudden idea was born in his mind. He found himself near the counter. 

"Cappuccino or latté?" he asked, smiling to Ludwig who was now standing next to him and washing the dishes. Ludwig blinked, he was kind of confused. "Um, whatever will be fine." Feliciano's face beamed up and, taking two cups, he began to prepare coffees for the two of them. 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

"You don't mind sleeping here?" Feliciano clunched his pillow tighter.. He was standing next to the couch in Beilschmidts’ living room, observing how Ludwig was building himself a simple bedding. "'Cause if you do, then we can switch, I really don't mind sleeping here..." 

Ludwig straightened and looked at Feliciano. "Don't be ridiculous. You're my guest. And while yes, I wasn't exactly prepared for having you over, you should sleep in my bed, not here." He placed two pillows on the couch, sighed and turned to the Italian. 

"Ludwig, I am very grateful, I really am, only I..." Feliciano sighed softly "I'm not sure whether I really deserve that." 

"What are you talking about?" Ludwig said, his tone annoyed again. He scolded himself in his mind for that. _Try to be calmer, goddamnit. You'll scare him away, he's so fragile._

Feliciano bit his lip and he sat down on the couch next to Ludwig. He looked like he was about to cry and Ludwig felt a sharp pain in his heart. 

"I don't really understand why you brought me here..." Feliciano started. He hid his mouth behind he pillow. "I mean, I'm not complaining, I just..." 

"I told you I'm going to take care of you, didn't I?" Ludwig said, his tone serious. "You thought I was gonna let you come back to school, to those stupid people?" 

"They're not stupid." Feliciano burried his nose into the pillow. "I’m the one with imaginary problems." 

Ludwig sighed heavily. He already promised himself to read up something about depression that night and maybe check out some good psychologists in the city. 

"No." Ludwig looked at Feliciano, who was still hiding his face behind the pillow. "You're the one with the problem, a serious one." Ludwig gulped, not sure what exactly he was supposed to say. "And you said before that we're best friends, right?" 

A quiet sound came from behind the pillow. Ludwig took that as a yes. "So I'm going to help you. That's what friends do." 

Feliciano abandoned the pillow and shifted closer to Ludwig. "You promise?" he said quietly with wet eyes. Ludwig nodded, holding his breath, because Feliciano was so close. It didn't make him uncomfortable, but he was tense.

“People often told me _we are friends, I’m not gonna leave you_...” The Italian explained. “I trusted them, because I always try to see the best in people. But they did.” Feliciano’s voice became smaller “They did leave me. Maybe they thought that since I’m so cheerful, it’s impossible to hurt me and make me sad.” He looked up, he was smiling but there was something sad in that grin. Like he was resigned. “But well, the truth appears to be different, no?”

Ludwig gulped again, his sweaty palms resting on his knees. Why was he feeling so awkward and nervous? Sure, he hadn’t had a friend like Feliciano before, just a couple of colleagues. Sometimes he hanged out with Gilbert’s friends, not so often though. It was fine, he was neither particularly lonely nor did he crave much attention. He was comfortable with his life being filled with work, handling his noisy older brother, dogs, reading and ocasionally baking. Feliciano stormed in his life unexpected. Ludwig never thought that this charming Italian, who he had met on his trip to Venice, would become so close to him in such short time. Occasionally, when he was lying in bed and sleep wasn’t coming for long, Ludwig would wonder if Feliciano’s behaviour was really just how best friends act. Maybe Feliciano wasn’t considering them _friends_ , maybe something more... _but that is stupid, Belischmidt, stop it._ He’s just extroverted, extremely friendly, he likes people, he’s young, Italian, call it whatever you like. Besides, when in Venice he saw how Feliciano was flirting with girls- oh so many girls- and well, he definitely wasn’t flirting with Ludwig. _No. He was just being nice._

“Um, it’s fine being sad sometimes…” He finally let out an response, but he wasn’t looking at the Italian. “But it’s not fine being an idiot, like those people you just mentioned.” 

“Don’t call them idiots, maybe they were right.” Feliciano said and Ludwig looked at him, asking why. “Maybe they were right about leaving me.” 

“Please, stop.” Ludwig said “That’s not true. If all your so called _friends_ are like your roommate, then yes, they are idiots.” Feliciano glanced at the German and a soft smile visited his lips. He shifted even closer and now his nose was so close that it could touch Ludwig’s shoulder, if Feliciano decided he would want to do such thing. Ludwig could smell the Italian’s perfumes and it made him feel dizzy. Well, it was either fault of the oceanic smell of his perfumes or just his closeness. “Thank you, Ludwig.” Feliciano said softly. Ludwig cleared his throat “You’re welcome. I- um,” he suddenly decided to stand up, “I- umm, better go to get a towel for you.” 

Feliciano blinked and laughed. “Alright!” 

Ludwig quickly found himself in the bathroom, looking into his own relfection. He sighed heavily, cursing his behaviour. Or rather, lack of any action. “What I am supposed to do? How am I supposed to act?”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Feliciano couldn’t sleep.

He sure was really tired after the flight and the picnic and the shopping and the bed was surprisingly comfortable (for some reason he imagined Ludwig would sleep on something way more flat and harsh). But this situation made him kind of … excited? He never visited Ludwig in is apartment and he was generally anxious that Ludwig didn’t excatly like him? Feliciano knew some people could find his cheerfulness and easy-going attitude annoying. He usually didn’t want people to be mad at him, but he felt like if Ludwig ever left him, something bad would surely happen.

From the very moment Feliciano first saw Ludwig in the art gallery he was working at, he felt something. At first he would explain to himself that it was another interesting face he could use as a reference in his drawings, so he approached Ludwig with confidence. It was very common of him to ask random strangers if he could take a picture of them or quickly sketch their face, so he wasn’t feeling awkward or flustered. But when Feliciano was close to Ludwig and he could look into his blue eyes- he became flustered and so did the German. It was a sudden feeling, sudden change in his habit and the Italian felt shivers running down his spine. He beamed with the most charming smile he could come up with- and asked if the German needed any help. Soon after, they found themselves walking around the gallery, Feliciano lecturing about art and different usages of chiaroscuro, not only surprised but also kinda flattered that someone pays attention. Walking around with groups of kids or elders was tiring for Feliciano, since most of them weren’t paying attention to exhibitions. Ludwig was. He bought a book about Venice and did a lot of research, so he could actually hold a conversation with Feliciano- besides he tried to understand the art he saw, not only take pictures with his camera. 

Ludwig stayed in Venice two more days and they exchanged phone numbers and saw each other twice more before the German’s departure. Feliciano didn’t know about Ludwig’s feelings much, but he was sure about his own- he was sure that the German would be his great friend, maybe even soulmate. He knew the saying that opposities attract, and he felt so much different around German. He wanted to be appreciated by Ludwig, he wanted Ludwig to be impressed with him, he wanted to talk to Ludwig about everything and sketch his face every evening. 

It wasn’t so much shock for Feliciano when he realised he was in love with Ludwig Belidschmidt. He discovered that information on one evening when they were video-chatting. It was December and they’d known each other for six months. Ludwig was getting ready to go back to Germany for winter break and holidays and talking about his troubles with snow on his car and his family during Christmastime; when Feliciano realised he’s in love. He looked at Ludwig at the other side of the screen- his room dark with only desk light switched on, wearing a black tanktop and a small, silver cross necklace that embraced his neck. And he realised he was in love. 

_“Ti amo.”_ Feliciano whispered so quietly Ludwig didn’t hear.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Feliciano shifted and pushed his duvet away. He kneeled on the bed and struggled a little to the window. When he succeded, he sat down and shortly after he heard the buzz of his phone. It took him a while to find it. When he did, the bright screen showed him the name of his brother. _You okay there?_ Lovino texted him. Feliciano fell back onto the cushions and the movement made his sketchbook fall to the floor. He tried to doodle before. _Yeah, I’m fine now. Call you in the morning?_ he sent and a small sigh left his mouth. He started rubbing his eyes, tired and annoyed that sleep was not coming. 

Finally, he sat down on the bed and looked around. When his eyes got used to the darkness around him, he was able to recognize the furniture- a massive wardrobe and a desk on the opposite of the bed, and some machine Ludwig used to exercise. Some pictures on the wall and a playpen for dogs. Feliciano sat like this for a while, pondering something. He made up his mind and stood up, quietly moving foreward and opening the door. He listened, but there was only silence. Feliciano took a deep breath and went to the kitchen. He was nearly on the threshold when he noticed someone in the darkness standing against the counter. His heart was pounding rapidly, his head immediately full of thoughts about robbers and serial killers, but it was only for couple of seconds, because he recognized Ludwig’s posture - the tall man was pouring himself a glass of water. The Italian smiled and quietly stepped into the kitchen.

“Having trouble sleeping?” He said and Ludwig turned to him. 

“And you?” the German asked. 

“Yeah. Sometimes. I figured maybe tea will help.” 

Ludwig mumbled something that sounded like “sure” and reached out to a higher shelf for a cup. An idea came to Feliciano’s head and he quickly went for it - he made use of Ludwig’s arm being up and he clunched to his chest. German’s arm flopped and his body became tense at the sudden touch. Feliciano sighed softly and nuzzled into the material of Ludwig’s robe. Like always, Ludwig slowly relaxed under the Italian’s touch. He put away the cup and awkwardly patted Feliciano’s head. 

“Everything’s alright?” he asked finally and Feliciano nodded. 

“It’s alright now.” 

Ludwig felt a blush on his face and scolded himself in his mind for acting so teenage-y. He moved his hand to Feliciano’s back and stroked him softly. 

“You can stay here as long as you want.” Ludwig said.

“In your arms? Sure” Feliciano responded and giggled and it made Ludwig blush even more. 

“I- I meant in my house.” 

Feliciano’s head moved and he looked up into Ludwig’s dark face above him. “Thank you for helping me.” 

“But I didn’t do anything yet-”

“You’re here.” the Italian said cheerfuly. “That’s enough.”


End file.
